TV

Key and Peele Is My S**T: The 10 Best Key and Peele Skits

The best of the sketch.

Editor’s Update 9-9-15:Although this article was originally published a couple years ago, I decided to re-post it in honor of the show’s final episode airing tonight on Comedy Central. This list originally did not account for skits from Season 4 of the show due to the timeframe in which it was published, but I took the liberty of adding five recent skits to the top of the list (in no particular order, of course) for a grand order of ten. So let’s just sit back, relax, and enjoy some skits from this truly magnificent show, shall we?

Let’s begin with one one of the more recent skits:

Aerobic Meltdown:

An absolutely hysterical skit that perfectly shows off this show’s skill at comedic escalation — and perfectly aping a style that just makes the skit all the more enjoyable to watch. And that catchy tune in the background certainly helps make for a memorable skit as well.

Family Matters

This sketch made the rounds earlier last year when it became something of a viral hit, and for good reason — it’s a pretty amazing achievement in sketch writing, both a creative skewering of a show off the rails and an excellently shot, brief little short film. And Jordan Peele’s Reginald ValJohnson impression just can’t be beat.

Rap Battle Hype Man

Okay yes, a certain argument could be made that this sketch is built entirely upon watching Jordan Peele make bizarre screetching noises…but man is Jordan Peele so freaking good at making bizarre, screeching noises. One of my personal favorites, and with one of the most creative punchlines of the entire show (Steinbeck, y’all!)

Slap-Ass

The fact the skit runs longer than most and I STILL never wanted it to end is a testament to how freaking great it really is.

Nooice

It’s my opinion that Key and Peele is the funniest show on TV. I’ve often compared them to a modern-day version of A Bit of Fry & Laurie, a side-splittingly witty sketch comedy that launched the careers of Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele rely on the same basic tactics as Fry and Laurie; topical subject matter, memorable characters, subversion of expectations, and a surprising amount of acting depth from a sketch comedy. And the best part is that the grand majority of skits are supported by two actors.

Below are 5 of the funniest skits that show the range of Key and Peele’s comedic talent while also illustrating their willingness to tackle a wide variety of topics.

East vs. West Bowl

This is one of their more straightforward skits, and probably what the two are best known for alongside Substitute Teacher. As two announcers hype up a college bowl game, the players introduce themselves similarly to “Sunday Night Football”, and all of them are played by Key and Peele. Oh yeah, and they have names like “L’Carpetron Dookmarriot” and “Hingle McCringleberry.” What makes this skit so hysterical is that there really shouldn’t be anything funny about it at all. It’s just 22 players introducing themselves and schools, but the absurdly funny names and the way the actors can differentiate each character in less than 5 seconds makes it impossible not to laugh. Also, the punchline is one of the show’s very best.

Hoodie

I was really blown away the first time I saw Hoodie. Mere months after the Trayvon Martin verdict, Key and Peele were able to tackle a major social event with oodles more tact than other shows (South Park being the worst culprit) and still make you chuckle. Peele plays a black teenager strolling through an upper middle-class suburb, when he is met with more and more unfriendly and downright hostile looks from neighbors. His upbeat manner begins to fade, and the character gets more leery and uptight as the skit progresses. The instant he pulls his hood over his head is one of the most powerful moments in the show. While the ending might not get the most laughs, it definitely sticks in your memory.

Gay Marriage Legalized

Earlier I talked about how good these guys are at subverting expectations, and this skit is probably the best example. A TV reporter camped outside a courthouse interviews gay couple Key and Peele after same-sex marriage legislation is legalized in their state, and the couple’s opposing reactions are absolutely hilarious. Peele does a great job hamming it up as stereotypical gay man “LaShawn”, while his partner Samuel (played to hand-wringing perfection by Key) insists that their impending marriage is “a discussion.” Watching Samuel’s increasing discomfort (“I think it’s really important to know the person”) coupled with LaShawn’s over-the-top wedding plans (“Who is the bride? I am the bride”) creates one of the show’s overtly funny skits.

Valet – The Batmans

I honestly like all of their Valet skits, but “The Batmans” is probably the best. In this sketch, the duo play overly excitable valets who start a seemingly normal conversation about why anyone would try and mess with “the Batmans” and their excitement quickly gets blown out of proportion as they start to act out scenes from Batman movies. I dare anyone not to laugh at the valets’ reenactment of Danny DeVito’s Penguin, and it only gets better from there. What makes the skit great is that we (especially film fans) all have something we love so much we just can’t talk about it without getting a bit excessive.

Flicker

An excellent movie spoof starring two office coworkers engaged in a “deadly game of deception.” A seemingly harmless office prank gets blown ridiculously far out of proportion, and the characters’ reactions to losing at the “you have something on your shirt” game. It does clock in as one of their longer sketches, but the multiple punchlines more than make up for the buildup. A fantastic send-up of Christopher Nolan’s movies and Hans Zimmer’s characteristically dramatic scores.

Did I miss any good ones? Well, yes I did, because there’s a lot of good ones, so leave us your picks at the bottom!

This is a great article. I love the comparison to Fry and Laurie (although I was always a Young Ones fan, myself). That said, I’d have chosen completely different sketches and characters. Levi and Mister Garvey are my fave returning characters. In addition to their sketches, I thought the steinbeck sketch and Othello were amazing this season, as well as the Les Miz parody. Both Halloween episodes are 100% great. I’m still looking for that “lunge bump” myself. ;-]

Jared Russo

The Obama ones get me every time. But this is a very solid list nonetheless.